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Austria History - Austrian American Immigration Business Genealogy Diplomacy ArtTowards the American Century: Austrians in the United States — Günter Bischof and Hannes Richter. An illustrated history of Austrian immigration to the United States and the wider Austrian-American relationship, covering migration, diplomacy, business, culture, scholarship and family history across more than two centuries. Published in 2019, the volume is part of a broader research project devoted to documenting Austrian contributions to American life.
Rather than attempting an exhaustive biographical survey, the authors present representative Austrian-American stories, communities and careers. The book examines immigration from the Habsburg era through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the Revolutions of 1848, the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I, the First Austrian Republic, the 1938 Anschluss, World War II and Austria’s postwar restoration.
Major centers of Austrian-American settlement included New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. These communities included economic migrants, craftsmen, political refugees, Jewish émigrés, academics, artists, scientists and businesspeople.
Notable Austrian and Austrian-born figures associated with American cultural and intellectual life include Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Neutra, Friedrich Hayek, Wolfgang Pauli, Stefan Zweig and the wider circle influenced by Sigmund Freud. Their careers illustrate the major Austrian contribution to American music, architecture, economics, physics, literature, psychology and university life.
Diplomacy is another central theme. Austrian Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner highlights the long relationship between Vienna and Washington, including U.S. support for Austria after World War II and the development of modern political, economic and cultural ties. The Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Austrian representatives in New York have played important roles in maintaining these connections.
The book also explores Austrian-American business, community organizations and cultural traditions. Events such as the Vienna Opera Ball in New York and performances honoring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gustav Mahler and other Austrian composers reflect the continuing influence of Austrian heritage in the United States.
The project is particularly relevant to genealogists and descendants of Austrian immigrants because it connects individual family histories with the larger history of migration from Austria and the former Habsburg Monarchy. The volume is extensively illustrated with historical photographs, portraits, documents and other archival material.
An excellent reference for collectors and researchers interested in Austria, Austrian Americans, the Habsburg Empire, immigration history, genealogy, Jewish émigrés, World War I, World War II, diplomacy, business history, cultural history and U.S.-European relations.
Publishing information: Towards the American Century: Austrians in the United States; Günter Bischof and Hannes Richter; hardcover; 2019; more than 260 pages; extensively illustrated; English language. ISBN not visible in the supplied images.
